French police allowed to use drones for monitoring of protests

By Esra Taskin

PARIS (AA) - Police have been allowed to use drones in Paris and many surrounding cities for monitoring of protests that erupted following the killing of a teenager by French police last week.

In a statement, the Paris Police Department said that following the publication of a decree, the police were allowed from 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. to use drones in Paris, in all cities in Seine-Saint-Denis and in some cities in Hauts-de-Seine.

Local Le Parisien newspaper reported that 7,000 police officers will be on duty Sunday evening in Paris and its suburbs.

Underlining that the government has been working hard to restore order in the country in recent days, French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne emphasized that attacks on public buildings such as police stations and municipalities are "unacceptable."

Borne underlined that the government will work until order is restored.

France has seen a wave of violent protests since a police officer shot dead Nahel M. in the Paris suburb of Nanterre last Tuesday.

Protests began in Nanterre and spread to other cities the next evening, including Lyon, Toulouse, Lille, and Marseille. However, tensions rose on Thursday following clashes between police and protesters.